Adilabad district set to see triangular fight

Hyderabad: The Adilabad district is likely to witness a triangular contest with all the three major parties Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) having strong presence in different constituencies even as the opposition parties try to bank on the anti-incumbency in several segments.

There are ten Assembly segments in the erstwhile Adilabad district, and the three major political parties are likely to share the seats among themselves in the upcoming elections. The BRS had won a majority of the seats in the district during the 2018 Assembly elections. However, the scenario changed after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with BJP making inroads into the district winning the Lok Sabha seat and Congress party resurgence. The ruling party BRS candidates have been facing anti-incumbency in few segments.

The Boath assembly constituency is likely to winess a triangular contest this time. It is presently represented by Rathod Bapu Rao. According to the locals, the votes from the Gond community are likely to be the deciding factor here. Locals say that if the BJP fields Soyam Bapu Rao, the party has better chances of winning since he also hails from the same community. The Congress is trying to woo G Nagesh to join the party. If he joins Congress, there will be a triangular fight.

In the Nirmal constituency, Minister A Indrakaran Reddy has stronghold and likely to win another term. However, the anti-incumbency factor and also A Maheshwar Reddy (from BJP) factor is likely to impact. Locals said that had he been in Congress, it would have been a cake walk for him.

In Adilabad constituency also there will be a triangular fight as the former minister Jogu Ramanna banks on the development works in the constituency in the last decade under the BRS government. The Congress party is likely to field Kandi Srinivas, who had joined from the BJP recently. The BJP has Payal Shankar and few other leaders, which makes it a triangular contest.

The Mudhole constituency is likely to have tough competition between the ruling BRS and the BJP. The BRS has given ticket to MLA Vithal Reddy and there are many aspirants in the BJP. There are three leaders vying for a ticket in BJP like the Patel Brothers including party executive member Mohan Rao Patel, Rama Rao Patel, had recently resigned as DCC president and joined BJP. Party leader Rama Devi had contested unsuccessfully in the 2018 elections.

The Khanapur Assembly constituency is likely to throw an interesting fight with the BRS denying ticket to the sitting MLA Rekha Naik and giving it to Johnson Naik. Former MP Ramesh Rathod has some strong presence in the constituency since he worked for TDP. It will be interesting to see the role to be played by Rekha Naik as she has not been assured ticket from the Congress party. If she contests the elections, the constituency will have a triangular fight with an edge in favour of Ramesh Rathod.

The Mancherial constituency is likely to have a tight fight between the BRS and Congress. The party has fielded MLA N Diwakar Rao as the candidate. Former legislator Gaddam Arvind Reddy has been opposing his candidature. In a meeting with the BCs, Arvind Reddy said that the BCs should unite and have their own candidate here or they should unite and select him as the candidate. It is learnt that Arvind Reddy may change the party and may either go to Congress or BJP. The district president V Raghunath is trying for a ticket from Mancherial. The Singareni staff is likely to play an important role in the election of the candidate here. In the Chennur Assembly constituency, while the BRS candidate Suman is strong, there is some sympathy in favour of former minister G Vinod. The anti-incumbency factor may play spoilsport for Suman in the constituency. In Sirpur Assembly constituency, Koneru Konappa is said to be sitting strong and expected to get another term. It is said that former bureaucrat and the BSP State Chief RS Praveen is looking to contest from here. The services rendered by the MLA is said to be having an added advantage for the MLA.

In Asifabad segment the BRS has changed the sitting candidate Atram Sakku and given it to ZP Chairperson Kova Laxmi. The fight is likely to be in between the BRS and Congress parties. MLA Rekha Naik’s husband Shyam Naik has joined the Congress party and is expected to get the ticket. The Congress party is looking to field her sister M Saraswati, who has also applied for a ticket in the party.